I always knew that I loved open-source collaboration, but I didn’t truly understand why until I saw this video:

It’s a fairly long one, but watch it when you have a moment. I promise it will turn some wheels in your head, and there’s a shout-out to Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade.

I will not attempt to explain things as lucidly as Clay Shirky does, but the bottom line is that the advent of open-source collaboration and social networks is truly revolutionary. It is deconstructing institutions in a way where we are able to create better outputs, while being more labor-inclusive and operating at a fraction of the cost.

Of course, it can veer out of control and amateur-ize everything in sight; witness Twitter and blogging. But also witness the cost: virtually zero. Given the enormous potential upsides, that seems pretty profound to me.